Right Here, Right Now: Taking co-production into the mainstream

Date: 20.07.2010

Location: NESTA, 1 Plough Place, London, EC4A 1DE

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We gathered together key thinkers from the world of public service at an event to launch our latest report on co-production entitled: Right Here, Right Now: taking co-production into the mainstream. 

This report is the third from a partnership between nef and NESTA looking at co-production (see below for our definition).

The event included contributions from NESTA's Executive Director of the Public Services Lab, Philip Colligan, nef's David Boyle, and a panel of experts including Garath Symonds from Surrey County Council, Anna Coote of nef, Edward Andersson of Involve and Mike Haslam of the Department of Health. 

Tackling the barriers

The discussion focused on the barriers to taking co-production into the mainstream of public services. There was a consensus in the room that commissioning arrangements and capturing the value of co-produced services were among a number of hurdles that need to be overcome. Workforce skills were also identified as an area for further work.

The report offers some recommendations about how to do this, and we'll also be commissioning a series of practical experiments to test out how to mainstream co-production. 

More for more

Philip Colligan outlined that co-production is not about more for less but instead about more for more, as this approach unlocks and values the “assets” that users of public services have. Garath Symonds stated that it was important to learn by doing co-production, whilst Anna Coote talked about the importance of this approach in promoting social justice and tackling inequality.

Summary

There was a sense of optimism in the room and a view that this is the right time to take co-production from the margins into the mainstream. 

What is co-production?

Put simply, co-production demonstrates that people's needs are better met when they are involved in an equal and reciprocal relationship with professionals and others, working together to get things done.

This is the key to transforming public services so that they are effective, affordable and sustainable in the long term. The 'big society' needs co-production at its heart - not as a marginal experiment, but as the standard way of planning and delivering services. Our aim is to establish co-production as a new paradigm for designing and delivering services.

For almost a year now we have been working with a group of innovative front line practitioners, and have gained valuable insights into the radical potential of co-production.

Our latest publication, Right here Right now: Taking co-production into the mainstream, looks at the policy needed to take co-production into the mainstream.  

Speakers:
Phillip Colligan, Executive Director of the Public Services Lab
Ed Andersson, Deputy Director, Involve
David Boyle, nef fellow and author of the publication
Anna Coote, Head of Social Policy, nef
Mike Haslam, Department of Health Personalisation Policy Team
Garath Symonds, Deputy Director of Services for Young People